Posted by farrandaway on September 13, 2008, at 17:18:03
In reply to Tramadol works, but poops out after a month or so., posted by dcruik518 on September 9, 2008, at 18:45:44
i've been taking it for over a year with no need to increase dose and no loss of effect (or affect for that matter :-)). started as an osteoarthritis pain med option since i can't take nsaids,- but initially it gave me a crazy weird feeling, sort of a cranky, manic high, so i had to stop taking it. but i really needed a pain control option.
Then I did some digging and found a not very well publicized interaction with trazadone -- which i had been taking a low dose of for chronic depression/anti anxiety. without going into details, tramadol is working in some of the same systems as trazadone.
I stopped the trazadone resumed the tramadol, and, bingo!, no crazy weird feeling, and gotreasonably good pain relief. Later i noticed that i hadn't been depressed AT ALL whenever I was taking it for a few days in a row. so i just started monitoring my mood and noting when i was taking it for pain. At one point I tried deliberately thinking really sad negative thoughts and I got totally different reaction than the typical depression that would normally follow on that sort of thinking.
I take 2 50mg tabs once a day in the morning, since it does have the effect of keeping me alert and awake all night if I take it after dinner! also I take a "holiday" for 2-3 days each month since i don't want to develop a dependency or tolerance for that matter.
Tramadol is hands down, the single most effective antidepressant I have ever taken (inc. trycyclic, SSRIs, trazadone, alternative, e.g. st john's work, SAMe, etc) and what's even better it actually does relieve acute osteoarthritis pain. There is actually quite a body of pharmacology supporting the off-label use of tramadol for depression and the fact that it is relatively low risk for dependency. I have experience no significant side effects.
However, I do wish the interactions were better publicized, some could be quite serious, e.g. ssri's, I personally avoid any other psychoactive med. to be on the safe side.
poster:farrandaway
thread:849938
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080903/msgs/851829.html